Some troops unhappy about Obama pledge on gays [View All]

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Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Many U.S. troops in Iraq were overjoyed to see President Barack Obama take his oath, but some were unhappy about one thing the Democrat has promised to do: permit gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly.

Obama said during his campaign he opposed a 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to work in the U.S. military, widely referred to as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule.

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Specialist Joseph Watson, from Texas, was "pretty excited" to see America's first black president sworn in, he said, after watching Obama's inauguration on a big TV screen at the dining hall of Forward Operating Base Prosperity, in Baghdad.

But the 30-year-old was a lot less excited about Obama's inclination to repeal the ban on gay men and women serving.

"Ah, I think that might cause a lot of problems," he said. "It's a big moral issue. It's giving the OK, saying that being gay is alright. Personally, I don't think being gay is OK."

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKTRE50K2KC20090121